Vince Young

College Football: National Signing Day 2013, A Decade Of Cautionary Tales

Beginning bright and early Wednesday morning, 18-year-old football players far and wide will finalize in writing their plans on where they will ply their trade for the next three to five years, causing high blood pressure in adults three times their age coast to coast and dragging the fax machine in ... More >>

Packers 42, Texans 24: Troubling Trends Continue in First Loss; The 5 Biggest Holes to Fill

It may be only one loss, but the trend lines are concerning. For a second straight week, the Texans (5-1) were outplayed in a handful of key areas, most notably within the once-vaunted line play as well as individual battles of receivers vs. cornerbacks. But unlike this past Monday, when the Texans ... More >>

Texans Rewind: I Found a 2008 NFL Preview Magazine, Man Alive Was the Texans Defense Bad

On our radio show on 1560 The Game this past Monday, John Granato and I were breaking down various aspects of both the Texans 26-13 win over the Panthers and the preseason in general. The topic was the defense, specifically Whitney Mercilus and the various ways that Texans defensive coordinator Wade ... More >>

Exotic Prop Bet Mania: Profiting Off The Madden Curse

When the average sports fan hears the word "wagering," for the most part they equate it with football and basketball, betting on spreads and total points scored. But if you read my work in this space, you know that the occasional prop bet is a fun diversion and oftentimes a chance to have more long ... More >>

Texans Draft Recap: Six Things We Learned

Few things are sillier in sports analysis than "draft grades" given before players have taken their first steps onto a professional field. Texan fans know this quite well, considering the abundance of Fs given to them by analysts in 2006 for having the gall to choose Mario Williams over the anointe ... More >>

Thursday NFL Free Agent Update: Is Wade Phillips Still Missing?

What's more glamorous, dude: New York or Houston?​As I type this, it's 4:36 p.m. on Thursday and the Texans' free agency activity still can be summed up as follows: 1. Backup offensive tackle Rashad Butler 2. Backup wide receiver Jacoby Jones 3. Backup Matt Leinart No cornerbacks, no safeti ... More >>

The Longhorn Network -- The $300 Million Mystery

Pimp My Bevo, coming soon to your TV​"We want to define what it means to be 'the' public university. The challenge is to create new sources of revenue to support our mission." -- University of Texas President Bill Powers Done and done. Earlier today, the University of Texas and ESPN announc ... More >>

KTRH's "Most Influential Houstonian Of 2010": KTRH's Michael Berry

Michael Berry: All bow to his influence​Who is the single most influential Houstonian of 2010? Annise Parker, who has garnered worldwide publicity for Houston? A piker. No, by far the most influential Houstonian this year has been Michael Berry, talk-show host on KTRH. At least according to ... More >>

Waiting For Nicki Minaj: Rap Existentialism At Hush

Photos by Marco TorresNot Nicki Minaj.​8:15 p.m.: The premise is simple: Nicki Minaj, perhaps the most buzzy, interesting, interestingly buzzy female rapper of the last decade, will be at Hush tonight as part of her album release celebration. It will be a proper good time, we imagine. The even ... More >>

Les Miles for President (Also, 5 Winners and 5 Losers From This Weekend)

Everyone's talking about Les Miles, and not in a good way​"In the game of life nobody -- repeat, NOBODY -- is playing with more house money than Les Miles." -- Me on Twitter just after LSU's 16-14 win over Tennessee As Homer Simpson would say, it's funny because it's true. The truly funny th ... More >>

College Football and NFL: This Weekend's Best Bets

The Dr Pepper commercial can't be far behind​Now that The Office has turned into a big, directionless mess, the title for Most Watchable Thing on Thursday night television (with apologies to It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and The League) is the two-minute "Dr. Lou" segments that run at halftime ... More >>

Texas Longhorns: The Most Laughable Report Card Ever

Longhorns: Grading on the curve​There's an episode of The Sorpanos in Season 5 entitled (ironically so) "All Happy Families." Sopranos fans will remember the fifth season as the one where Tony and Carmela spent a majority of the season separated, so in turn, they also fought a lot. In "All Happy ... More >>

College Football & NFL -- This Weekend's Best Bets

Reggie Bush has always been a cheater​I'll get to the Best Bets of the weekend in a second, I promise, but first some venting.Reggie Bush is rapidly moving up my most hated list.Not because he chose to attend Southern Cal instead of Notre Dame. Not because the defining play of Notre Dame's decade ... More >>

Texans 2010 Preview: Not So Fast With The High Hopes

Photo by Aaron M. SprecherRemember, optimists, Gary Kubiak is still coaching​It's not bad enough that the Texans are starting this season with what is projected to be the toughest schedule in the NFL. Or that the Texans are starting out with Brian Cushing on the suspended list for the first four g ... More >>

Phranchyze Crowned Houston's Freestyle King At Red Bull EmSee Contest

Photos by RizohThursday's unanimous winner Phranchyze advances to the national Red Bull EmSee finals in Detroit.​Outside on Westheimer, a small crowd of young music lovers has gathered in front of Numbers. Before Rocks Off even makes our way into the building, we're immediately greeted by soul ... More >>

Game Time: Michael Vick -- Why Can't You Just Be A Schnook Like The Rest Of Us?

Trouble just seems to find him​"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." -- Henry Hill at the beginning of Goodfellas, when it was all about greed, excess, and privilege"Today, everything is different. There's no action. I have to wait around like everyone else. C ... More >>

Blog Stars

Ten local sites that rock our world

NCAA Being Sued By Former Players Who Find Themselves Being Used In Video Games

​Not many people remember Ed O'Bannon for his exploits on the basketball court. But if he has his way, his name may end up as one of the most memorable in college sports history, primarily because he could end up being the one who changes college sports history. O'Bannon was a star forward on the ... More >>

Game Time: Stop Me If You've Heard This Before -- So The Texans Are Going To Tie The Game....

​There are certain teams around the NFL where having the national stage all to themselves -- say, on a Thursday night, Sunday night, or especially on Monday night -- is seen as just another day at the office. To teams like the Colts, Patriots, Giants, and a handful of others, the prime-time stage ... More >>

Game Time: Texans Battle Titans Tonight In The Most Important Athletic Event In Our's Nation's History

​Ladies and gentlemen, I've been to Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and I can say without hyperbole that this is a million times worse than all of them put together." -- Kent Brockman, Channel 6, Springfield (The Simpsons)If you are wondering what "this" was in that quote, it was the Bart Simpso ... More >>

Texans Find Yet Another Way To Turn Breakthrough Into Heartbreak

​Before 2004, I remember laughing at Red Sox fans and the Curse of the Bambino. I rolled my eyes while Cubs fans whined about a goat. I remember being baffled that grown men and women could seriously believe or discuss outside forces having an impact on what occurs in the field of play.Then I met ... More >>

Playoffs? Playoffs? We Just Hope The Texans Can Win A Game

​In all of three hours, the hot topic of the 2009 Texans season might have transitioned from whether they can make the playoffs to whether they can lure Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan or Jon Gruden as head coach come January.Remember the Texans' dynamic offense? The league's third-best unit a year ago ... More >>

What To Look For If You're Looking At The Texans And Saints

Photo by wackykramer​It's time for preseason game number two for the Houston Texans. This week, they're taking on the New Orleans Saints. The two teams have been practicing against each other this week, and yesterday, things got a bit heated as there were multiple fights punctuated by Saints tight ... More >>

If There's A Watch List For QB Awards, UH's Case Keenum's On It

Photo courtesy UH​If the honor is in being nominated, then UH quarterback Case Keenum can just go ahead and shut it down before the season gets started. The junior QB, last season's Conference USA offensive player of the year, has had his name added to two more postseason watch lists, putting him ... More >>

Can the Houston Texans Get Garcia In This Rosenfels Trade? Jeff Can Come, Too

Photo by gr750 NFL free agency starts today. And since the Houston Texans are trading Sage Rosenfels to the Minnesota Vikings, they find themselves in desperate need of a backup quarterback. And with Matt Schaub as the number one QB, the Texans are going to desperately need a proven backup for tho ... More >>

Can the Houston Texans Get Garcia In This Rosenfels Trade? Jeff Can Come, Too

Photo by gr750 NFL free agency starts today. And since the Houston Texans are trading Sage Rosenfels to the Minnesota Vikings, they find themselves in desperate need of a backup quarterback. And with Matt Schaub as the number one QB, the Texans are going to desperately need a proven backup for tho ... More >>

College Bowl Preview: Picks By A Real Expert, The Finale

The college football bowl season is here, and it's become such a confusing mess of odd-sounding games played in smallish towns with mediocre teams that you need an expert to figure it out. And nothing says "expert" more than a teen-aged kid, whether the subject is football, driving, or how inutterab ... More >>

College Bowl Preview: Picks By A Real Expert, The Finale

The college football bowl season is here, and it's become such a confusing mess of odd-sounding games played in smallish towns with mediocre teams that you need an expert to figure it out. And nothing says "expert" more than a teen-aged kid, whether the subject is football, driving, or how inutterab ... More >>

John Royal's NFL Power Rankings

Sole of Houston: Strip Mall Taverns on the Southwest Side

An Exclusive Interview with the Astrodome

NFL Weekend Playoff Picks

John Royal’s NFL Picks, Week 17: Betting Against the Texans for the Last Time (Till Next Year)

John Royal's Top Twenty Sports Moments of 2007, Part Two

Jason Friedman’s NFL Picks, Week Nine: Tony Romo and Britney Spears? Lance Armstrong and Ashley Olsen? Vince Young and David Carr? What’s the Deal with All These Mismatches?

Halloween Comes Early for Texans Fans

John Royal’s Pigheaded Pigskin Picks, Week Six: Loving and Hating the Cowboys

John Royal’s NFL Picks, Week Five: Sports Writers Are Athletes Too…

Mike Gundy, Jenni Carlson, Bobby Reid and Chicken. Which One Is Not Like the Others?

John Royal's NFL Picks, Week Three: Colts, Chargers and Greeks

Mean Joe Greene Meets Avril Lavigne: Texans-Cowboys from the Press Box

Mail Call

Just for Sports

Where Do We Go from Here?

This Better Work, Redux

This Better Work

There's No "I" in Blogger

Making the Call

Broadcasting high school games, ESPN-style

The Good, the Blog and the Ugly

Great moments in HouStoned history

Fanboy Deluxe

Our Nightfly surrogate brushes with greatness